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Blogs > Ivan Lajara
Daily Freeman Life Editor Ivan Lajara talks about journalism, living in the Hudson Valley, language, the Web, cats and even politics. But he shouldn't.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Self-hair cut after sessions
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Bad fun ideas
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Every day should end like this #dfpics
Weather cam from 79 Hurley Ave. in Kingston
#Weather #nofilter
Uptown #KingstonNY #dfpics
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
So far so good. Test 2
Social Kingston, NY, geolocated
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
DFM chat on process journalism during breaking news
Today we're talking about process journalism during breaking news, including dos and don'ts.
The live feed is posted below. But you can also follow the chat here or here or also here. And you can also check out past chats over here.
If you want to chime in, just post a tweet with the hashtag "#dfmchat" so it can automatically appear below.
Labels: breaking news, dfmchat, digital first, digital first media, digital journalism, jrcchat, process journalism
Monday, July 23, 2012
My Rebel Mouse page
Labels: rebelmouse
Hudson Valley Chalk Festival
Labels: chalk festival, Hudson Valley, instagram, New Paltz, photos
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Doomed duck
Chalk man
No redemption for them
Saturday, July 21, 2012
All mine, again
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Ulster county seal, updated
DFM chat on commodity news
|Image via http://www.edupics.com.
Trying to illustrate churnalism over here.
Today we're talking about commodity news, its role, how to gather and disseminate such information and the changes brought up by content farms and companies that outsource such tasks like Journatic.
The live feed is posted below. But you can also follow the chat here or here or also here. And you can also check out past chats over here.
If you want to chime in, just post a tweet with the hashtag "#dfmchat" so it can automatically appear below.
Labels: dfmchat, digital first, digital first media, digital journalism, jrcchat
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Somewhere in the woods
Lights Out!
Friday, July 13, 2012
Catskills slogans
Labels: #catskillslogans, catskills, slogans
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
I am the one behind News Cat Gifs!
I am responsible for News Cat Gifs!.
For the uninitiated, News Cat Gifs! is a Tumblr that's gone viral, mainly in journalism circles, for over a week now. Really.
For those who know me, this is not news or a surprise, since my dealings with news cats are well documented.
And yes, the idea is not original. There is, after all, #RealTalk from your Editor, Frustrated Journalist Cat (where a number of my submissions made it), Procatinator, Cat Gif page and on and on.
I was on vacation in late June and, while camping, I was ruminating over how to make things go viral after the Slate piece on Buzzfeed. I'm part of Digital First Media's Idealab, after all, and I like to experiment with things on the side.
I didn't just want to quite mimic something from Reddit, though. But I figured if I had potential if it was something that was niche enough (journalism) and if I hit industry influencers (that's why I had gifs with Steve Buttry at @stevebuttry, who is my boss, and NPR's Andy Carvin at @acarvin).
That was July 2. I posted about 20 gifs and @dfnewscat started posting the tweets. Other journalism industry influencers picked up on it early, I presume thanks to the targeted tweeting, including GigaOm's Matthew Ingram and the Associated Press' Eric Carvin, Andy's brother. Other journalism heavy hitters joined in soon thereafter.
I followed the Twitter spread with a simple Twitter search, so I could see the reaction (which was great and made me smile many times, especially when it was reaction from people I follow and admire).
The Tumblr was anonymous because that's part of the fun and because I wasn't posting the sources of the gifs. I wouldn't do that professionally, obviously. I was just having fun grabbing gifs from Tumblr and Google searches.
(TANGENT LINK: This is how to find the credit of the images online)
I messed up the metrics widget, however, and I didn't fix until about noon on July 3. But I knew it had gone viral already because of the Twitter chatter.
Since July 3 at around noon, the blog has had more than 239,000 hits, and close to 93,000 unique visitors. The average return visits as of now are 1,271 a day. The blog has an average of 19.50 note-to-post ratio. Yesterday it went viral in France and Australia, so it picked up a healthy 47,823 hits.
It received an interesting visit from the IP address of a U.S. Senate office in Auburn, Maine and it got many referrals in French at one point. There were tons of nuggets like this that made me smile.
I spent about an hour a night scheduling eight to 10 posts for the next day. I posted one over the weekend. The posts were not all just my experiences. It was more of a collective newsroom experience.. I'm glad many enjoyed it and related to it as I did.
It has 1,602 followers as of 2 p.m. today. It was shared wildly on Twitter, Facebook and even Google+ and Pinterest, and the latter doesn't even like gifs. It had nice referrals from 10,000Words and Kotaku as well.
Note that the blog has no social media share buttons at all.
Top Three Most Popular Posts
Text: 188 notes - Published 7 days ago
Text: 121 notes - Published 5 days ago
Text: 98 notes - Published 8 days ago
|Image via http://space-symphony.tumblr.com
Labels: cats, News, news cat gifs, viral
DFM chat on using multimedia during breaking news
Journalists, members of Digital First Media and pretty much everyone else who wants to - are going to be taking part on the weekly Twitter chat Wednesday at noon, Eastern Time.
Today we're talking about using multimedia during breaking news.
The live feed is posted below. But you can also follow the chat here or here or also here. And you can also check out past chats over here.
If you want to chime in, just post a tweet with the hashtag "#dfmchat" so it can automatically appear below.
Read more »
Labels: dfmchat, digital first, digital first media, digital journalism, jrcchat, tools
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
The Catskills according to New York City dailies, as told through tweets
Labels: catskills, dean gitter, hipsterism, new york times, wall street journal
Mid-Hudson Bridge from Walkway Over The Hudson @wothshp
Monday, July 9, 2012
How to post from Instagram to Blogger, via Android
So here's how to post from Instagram to Blogger from an Android device.
Superfast Tutorial 1: Make an ifttt recipe. Better yet, just grab this one.
Here's one I just did with ifttt.
The advantage of this method is that it's fast and the images appear larger (though you can always size the image).
I should also note that it took about 10 minutes or so for the draft to appear.
Tutorial 2.
1. Get the Blogger app and place it next to your native 'Galleries' app.
2. Open the Gallery app. You'll be happy to find that one of your albums is your Instagram photos.
3. Pick the photo you want, hit the "Menu" button, "Share" and "Share via Blogger"
4. The image will be embedded on your post, which you can edit however you want.
Here's one I did with that method, the Ghost Mobil of Route 199 before the Taconic Highway:
Labels: android, blogger, digital first, Idealab, instagram, jrc on demand
Monday, July 2, 2012
Which Kingston hospital should remain open?
You can also share your ideas via Twitter, like this, or in the comments below.
Labels: benedictine hospital, hospital, Kingston, kingston hospital


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(CNN) -- Three days after a jury cleared her on charges she murdered her young daughter, Casey Anthony on Friday rebuffed her mother's attempt to visit her in jail, a Florida correctional official said.
Cindy Anthony testified for both for the prosecution and the defense during her daughter's trial, with some tapes from her jail talks with Casey Anthony being entered in as evidence. George and Lee Anthony, Casey's father and brother, likewise took the stand during the more than six-week trial.
The mother had hoped to visit her daughter in jail at 7 p.m. Friday, said Orange County Corrections Department spokesman Allen Moore. Casey Anthony heard about the request on Friday morning and declined it, he said.
Casey Anthony did get a visit Thursday night at the Orange County jail in Orlando from an unidentified member of her defense team, according to Moore.
This appeared to be the first such request by a relative to visit Casey Anthony since the end of her trial on Tuesday. Cindy Anthony was similarly rejected when she asked to see her daughter in the weeks before the trial began in May.
A 12-member jury acquitted Casey Anthony on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter of a child. She was found guilty on four counts related to misleading law enforcement officers, and an Orange County Corrections statement released late Thursday indicated she will be freed on July 17.
The Orlando woman had been accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, in 2008. Police didn't begin looking into the girl's disappearance until July 15, 2008 -- about a month after the little girl was last seen -- when Cindy Anthony called police after tracking her daughter down and demanding answers.
The mother testified about these events during the recent trial. She also claimed that she -- and not Casey, as prosecutors had alleged -- searched for terms like "chloroform" on the family's computer in the weeks before Caylee went missing. The state had argued that Casey Anthony used chloroform to render Caylee unconscious before putting duct tape over her nose and mouth to suffocate her.
The rules against "double-jeopardy" prevent Casey Anthony from being tried again related to her daughter's death. But that does not mean her legal woes are over.
The same day she was acquitted, for instance, attorneys for a woman named Zenaida Gonzalez issued a subpoena for Casey Anthony to submit to a video-recorded deposition, according to a court document. Gonzalez has filed a suit for defamation of character because Casey Anthony told police that her daughter was with a nanny by that name.
The jury convicted Casey Anthony for lying about this fact, as there was never any such nanny with young Caylee Anthony.
And in a motion filed Wednesday, the state called for a hearing so it can tally up the enormous costs of investigating the case and slap Casey Anthony with the bill. The motion cites a Florida law that allows the state to fine defendants in criminal cases to recoup money spent.
Texas Equusearch, a firm that helped find the remains of Anthony's daughter, also wants the $112,000 that it spent looking for Caylee after she was reported missing. The little girl's skeletal remains were found in December 2008 near the Anthony home.
The company's head, Tim Miller, told CNN affiliate KTRK that he now believes the girl was never missing -- and he is contemplating a lawsuit.
HLN's Jackie Taurianen contributed to this report.

subset: commoncrawl


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There's going to be a lot of app sales running in the coming days as developers get in the holiday spirit and try to get owners of newly-gifted hardware to download their wares. Amazon wants to help Android users fill up their existing and new devices, announcing that it will give a $5 credit for its Amazon Appstore to anyone that downloads an app or game using the latest version of the Appstore from now through Dec. 28. The credit can be used for an app, game or in-app purchase.
If you're interested in snagging that $5 credit (and really, why wouldn't you be?) but don't have your eyes on any particular app, it's worth noting that several devs have slashed the prices of their apps in celebration of the season. EA, Sega and Gameloft have all discounted their apps in Amazon's Appstore, and the online retailer says that on Dec. 26, it will knock the price of the Office Suite Pro 7 from $14.99 down to just $0.99.
So what happens after you've used up your $5 credit? Well, I can tell you that that doesn't mean that you have to stop downloading. On Dec. 25 and Dec. 26, Amazon will offer two Free App of the Day bundles that pack in several different apps that offer savings of over $50. That's in addition to the usual Free App of the Day deal that Amazon typically offers. Here's what the online retailer will be giving away in the coming days:
- December 23 — Draw a Stickman: EPIC
- December 24 — Piano Master Christmas Special
- December 25 — Angry Birds Star Wars II
- December 26 — Where's my Perry?
- December 27 — Quell Memento
- December 28 — Doodle Farm
With the free app bundles and the free daily apps, there should be plenty of ways to keep yourself entertained without dropping a penny. And hey, with that free $5 Amazon Appstore credit, you can even treat yourself to a nice paid app for being so awesome this year. If you're done with reading and ready to start shopping, hit up the Amazon Appstore link below and get to downloading.


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Interview With Adrian Pasdar (Nathan Petrelli In Heroes)
Power: Flying
How do you feel about Nathan? There seems to be some underlying ambiguity about his character?
It's close to playing a Richard III-type character but in a modern dimension. All I need is a physical kind of abnormality to befall me, like hump or a limp then I would have a really Shakespearian experience!
I don't think he is necessarily concerned whether he is good or bad. I do think that there is a dark side that has to be dealt with, but the people who think they are good will probably turn out the other way on this show. It wouldn't do me any good to speculate as to how I'm going to end up. I think there is both good and bad in this character which is interesting to play. I am as much a fan who is along for the ride as the public are with this character and where he ultimately is going to go.
Would you agree that your character is defined more by his relationships than his superhero power?
Yes, I find these relationship dynamics are more interesting to play than the perceived super power, they have written that very well. The relationships that I share with my mum, with Peter (Milo Ventimiglia), with my wife and with Niki (Ali Larter), all those elements are angling together toward defining who Nathan Petrelli is to himself and his potential constituency.
Ultimately, when you're in the game of politics and you're a man like Nathan Petrelli, there is only one seat that you want and that's behind a desk in the Oval Office.
As we take this journey, we may find ourselves in the White House and that should make these relationships even more interesting.
Were you excited by the prospect of flying in the show?
Read the full story


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Press release 31/2017
9 February 2017
Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Kai Mykkänen met Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi in the capital city Nay Pyi Taw today. Minister Mykkänen reaffirmed Finland's strong support for Myanmar's peace process and the civilian government's democratic reforms. Mykkänen also appealed to the Government of Myanmar urging it to do its utmost to prevent further human rights violations in the region of Rakhine.
"I pointed out that we cannot accept violence and that the acts of violence in the region of Rakhine have an impact on the credibility of the entire democracy process. I was assured that the Government will arrange an investigation into the events and take action if evidence of violence is found. The human rights violations in Myanmar must and should be addressed immediately," Mykkänen says.
According to a recent UN report, serious human rights violations have occurred in the region of Rakhine.
"Basing on the UN's findings, I called for the need of a genuinely independent criminal investigation to promote the process. The State Counsellor was of the opinion that the national research commission must first be given time to do their work. She promised that its work will be completed in a short time, which would mean that it will not take several months.
Aung San Suu Kyi and Mykkänen discussed also development cooperation and trade between Myanmar and Finland.
Finland supports Myanmar's democracy and rule of law development, the peace process, the reform of the education system, and sustainable management of forest resources.
There is not much trade between the two countries yet, but the brisk growth rate of the economy and planned major investments in Myanmar in, among other things, energy and transport, offer good opportunities for a significant increase in the volume of trade.
The Team Finland delegation consists of representatives of 18 companies or other parties. The companies specialise in cleantech, energy, ICT, digitalisation and education.
Inquiries: Petri Wanner, Desk Officer, Unit for South Asia, tel. +358 40 731 4509 and Pasi Rajala, Special Adviser to Minister Mykkänen, tel. +358 400 464 393.
The Foreign Ministry's email addresses are in the format email@example.com.


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Expedited shipping is available for an additional charge on most orders shipping within the 48 states. These services include Next Day, 2nd Day, and 3 Day shipping. You can select these shipping options in the shopping cart during the checkout process. Please note that these shipping services increase the speed of shipping only and typically do not have bearing on product production and/or lead times. Additionally, the expedited shipping charges presented at checkout are sometimes subject change. We will notify you immediately for approval of any additional shipping charges if this circumstance arises.
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Please feel free to e-mail us for an international shipping quote or with any additional questions. Include your city, postal code and the items/quantities desired.
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Note that the lead times (typical durations between the placement of your order and shipment) displayed in our product descriptions are guidelines and are sometimes subject to being lengthened by a factory backorder. In the instance of a lead time extension, you will be contacted and given the option to cancel or modify your order.
In certain cases, your order may contain items from multiple brands. Thus, the items may ship separately and you may receive packages on different days.
You have 30 days from the date of delivery to request a return. Effective 2/1/15, we do NOT charge restocking fees for merchandise returned on time and in its original packaging. You are responsible for the cost of return shipping except in cases of merchandise received in damaged or defective condition. Original shipping charges on your order (if any) are also non-refundable.
When you receive your order, we highly recommend opening only one of each item to ensure your satisfaction before proceeding with installation and to guarantee that the items are in resalable condition should you opt to return them. We also recommend taking advantage of our sample program so you make the most educated purchase possible and avoid the potential hassle of shipping a return.
Some special order items cannot be returned and this will be noted in their online descriptions.
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If you are registered with Interknobs.com and have an online account, you can request a return authorization through the system. You can also email us with the following information:
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Interknobs.com will then e-mail you with return instructions, including the correct shipping address and any applicable RGA codes. It may take a few business days to provide this information. Once supplied with this information, you have 30 days to return the merchandise. Please ship your return merchandise within 14 days to ensure that credit is properly applied. We recommend that you obtain a tracking number for the return shipment so you have proof of delivery.
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If an item is damaged or defective or if an incorrect product was received, you must notify customer service within 5 business days. We will ship replacement items ASAP and provide pre-paid shipping service for the return merchandise. If you opt to return the damaged, defective, or incorrect item(s) without receiving replacements, our return policies become applicable, including any restocking fees.


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HOUSTON (AP) — Republican Ted Cruz is the newest troublemaker of the U.S. Senate, and his return to Texas this week was nothing short of a victory lap.
In just two months on the job, the brash 42-year-old Cruz is making good on promises to be absolute in his adherence to conservative principles. He's run afoul of GOP mainstays for his prosecutorial-style questioning of Defense Secretary-nominee Chuck Hagel and voted against nearly everything of significance.
His approach was unusual for a freshman in Washington, and its effectiveness long-term far from certain. But the reaction at home in Texas is effusive.
Speaking in Houston this week, Cruz said the flurry of attacks at him are an attempt to draw attention away from Hagel.
(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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Thanks to the folks at NFL.com, we have some quick video of exactly what Ed Reed was talking about earlier today.
Reed, speaking to Houston media for the first time since having arthroscopic hip surgery, said the only play he could think of that might have led to the initial injury that eventually became a torn labrum in his hip was a play where a "certain quarterback" kicked him.
That certain quarterback was Patriots quarterback Tom Brady who was fined $10,000 for the play in question. Brady slid and thrust his right leg up as he moved forward. Reed, running at Brady, got kicked in the right thigh. The force pushed his right leg outward.
You can watch the video here. First see it at full speed, then with about 30 seconds left, the video shows the slide in slow motion.
Afterward, Reed kneels on the ground. In the video clip, Reed doesn't crumple to the ground ,but that doesn't mean this issue didn't start there and get worse over time as Reed indicated. Right around the time the Texans signed Reed, general manager Rick Smith said Reed was constantly working out or on his way to work out. It's entirely possible that worsened something that started with this play.


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Daily we hear about the horrific conditions in Zimbabwe. In the past three weeks, the complete collapse of public health system and sanitation infrastructure has developed into a major cholera epidemic, which has not only extended to the entire country but also into South Africa. Authorities have closed the country's two main hospitals in Harare, including maternity wards. Essential medicines are not available to treat diseases that the government's gross negligence has exacerbated. Antiretroviral therapy for HIV/AIDS patients and TB treatment has been severely disrupted. Recently, the Medical School of the University of Zimbabwe was closed indefinitely as it has become impossible to continue to teach medical students in non-functioning health institutions. In the same week, Zimbabwean health workers organised a mass protest in Harare over the failure of the government to address both the health system collapse and the cholera outbreak. The country's notorious riot police brutally and violently broke up the peaceful demonstration that was calling for a regional and international crisis response.
The Social Justice Coalition made up of the diverse people of South Africa held a meeting on Wednesday 25 June 2007 to demonstrate their solidarity with victims of rights abuses in Zimbabwe and those of xenophobic attacks.
This is part of the launch of the Social Justice Coalition, highlighting the continuing political crisis in Zimbabwe and calling on people across South Africa and elsewhere to press the Southern African Development, (SADC), African Union (AU), and the United Nations (UN) to act decisively to end systematic political violence in Zimbabwe and resolve the country's long-standing political crisis.
Open Letter to the Governments of the World:


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Invite your bridesmaids. Save your favorite styles. Share likes & comments.
Bridesmaid dresses in your perfect wedding colors! Beautiful fabrics and nearly 200 color options let you mix and match bridesmaid styles from all our collections. Enjoy flawless color matching for adult bridesmaid dresses, junior bridesmaid dresses, flower girl dresses and menswear accessories.


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[1:04:05] -
The ins and outs of celebrity crushes, plus tips for changing our culture and a question about helping men step into leadership.
[37:02] -
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend an early screening of the Justin Bieber movie, Never Say Never. Going into the theater, all I knew of Justin was that tween girls want to marry him and that YouTube somehow helped kick-start his career. But when leaving the theater, I had caught a slight "fever." This documentary-style film about a 16-year-old pop star was actually entertaining and informative. Plus, it got me thinking about the nature of celebrity crushes. Why do people have them, and what impact do they have on our perspective of reality? Listen in as we discuss this topic's silly and serious sides.
[4:48] -
Washington insider Tim Goeglein has seen a lot. As a former White House staffer and special assistant to President George W. Bush, Tim knows the power of politics. But as he sits down with Lisa for this segment, he argues that for all their merit, bills, policies and party platforms will not change our culture. What will? Listen as Tim talks about influencing the hearts and minds of our generation.
A 29-year-old male is co-teaching his church's Sunday school class for 20-something singles, but he needs more men to step up to leadership roles. What can he do to mentor his fellow men? Glenn Lutjens, a counselor at Focus on the Family, gives his advice for encouraging spiritual growth in others.
Helping young adults mature in Christ and prepare for marriage and family. Learn more
© Focus on the Family 1998-2018


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If you've been trying to decide on whether to buy a Nexus 4 on a payment plan from T-Mobile, there's no better time than now. For a limited time, each purchase of a white 16GB Nexus 4 comes with a wireless charger, a $60 value.
When the Nexus 4 first launched, it was much cheaper to purchase the device outright from Google Play. That's not necessarily the case at the moment. The T-Mobile white Nexus 4 comes with 16GB of storage and a wireless charger for a grand total of $408 upfront, or $20 a month with $0, yes zero, money down. For the same configuration at Google Play, you'd pay $350 for the phone and another $60 for the charger. It's actually $2 more expensive to buy a white Nexus 4 and wireless charger from Google Play and you don't have the option to pay it off over time.
As far as we're concerned, the Nexus 4 is still an amazing device more than capable of holding its own against the competition. And it's still guaranteed to get another couple big updates out of Google before it hits the end of the line. Don't wait to jump on this deal.


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You are here
Information Quality Guidelines
These guidelines describe SBA's policy for ensuring the quality of information that it disseminates to the public and sets forth the administrative procedure by which an affected person may obtain correction of disseminated information.
U.S. Small Business Administration
Information Quality Guidelines
1. Purpose.
The purposes of these Information Quality Guidelines ("Guidelines") are:
to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information, including statistical information, disseminated by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA);
to establish an administrative mechanism to allow affected persons to seek and obtain a correction of information maintained and disseminated by the SBA if it does not comply with the OMB Guidelines or these Guidelines; and
to comply with the Office of Management and Budget's "Guidelines for Ensuring and Maximizing the Quality, Objectivity, Utility, and Integrity of Information Disseminated by Federal Agencies," effective January 3, 2002, 67 FR 8452 (Feb. 22, 2002) ("OMB Guidelines").
2. Dates.
Implementation Date. SBA will implement these Guidelines beginning on October 1, 2002.
Applicability Date. These Guidelines are applicable to information that the SBA disseminates on or after October 1, 2002. Beginning October 1, 2002, the Guidelines require SBA to review such information to ensure quality, before SBA disseminates it to the public.
The only exception to this general applicability date is that the administrative mechanism described in paragraph 9 of these Guidelines applies to any information that SBA disseminates on or after October 1, 2002, regardless of when SBA created it or first disseminated it. SBA considers information to be continuously disseminated to the public if SBA continues to rely upon that information as a basis for its decisions concerning SBA's program responsibilities, or which SBA relies upon as official, authoritative government data. Therefore, such information is subject to the administrative mechanism in paragraph 9 of these Guidelines, even if SBA first disseminated such information before October 1, 2002. However, information that SBA first disseminated prior to October 1, 2002, and that SBA maintains on its web site or other publicly-available venue but that SBA neither continues to use for decision-making nor relies upon as official, authoritative, government data, is not considered continuously disseminated after October 1, 2002. Such information instead is considered "archived" information and, therefore, not subject to the administrative mechanism in paragraph 9 of these Guidelines.
Refer to paragraph 11 of these Guidelines for restrictions on the application of the Guidelines to SBA decisions.
3. SBA Implementation of and Compliance with Guidelines.
SBA's Chief Information Officer is responsible for SBA's compliance with OMB Guidelines, and for SBA's activities pursuant to these Guidelines, except for the activities of and information disseminated by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG).
OIG will issue its own guidelines to comply with the OMB Guidelines, and such guidelines will govern OIG's activities and information disseminated by the OIG that would be subject to the OMB Guidelines.
4. Definitions.
When SBA uses the following terms in these Guidelines, they have the following meanings or concepts.
Information means any communication or representation of knowledge, such as facts or data, in any medium or form, including textual, numerical, graphic, cartographic, narrative, or audiovisual forms. It includes information that SBA disseminates from SBA's own official web sites, but does not include the provision of hyperlinks to information that others disseminate. It does not include opinions, where the presentation makes clear that what is being offered is someone's opinions rather than SBA's views.
Government information means information created, collected, processed, disseminated, or disposed of by or for the Federal Government.
Dissemination or Disseminated means SBA initiated or sponsored distribution of information to the public. If a particular dissemination of information is not covered by these guidelines because it is not "SBA initiated or sponsored," the guidelines may still apply to a subsequent dissemination of that information in which SBA adopts, endorses or uses the information to formulate or support a regulation, guidance, or other decision or position.
"SBA initiated or sponsored distribution" DOES NOT include:
Distribution limited to government employees or SBA contractors or grantees.
Distribution intended to be limited to intra- or inter-agency use or sharing of government information.
Responses to requests for agency records under the Freedom of Information Act, the Privacy Act, or the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
Distribution limited to correspondence with individuals or persons.
Press releases or similar communications that announce, support the announcement, or give public notice of information SBA has disseminated elsewhere.
Archival records.
Public filings.
Distribution intended to be limited to subpoenas or adjudicative processes (for example, findings and determinations that SBA makes in the course of adjudications involving specific parties).
Research results and findings published or disseminated by an SBA contractor or grantee in the same manner as his or her academic colleagues.
Research results and findings published or disseminated based on the contractor's or grantee's decision to disseminate the information and determination of the content and presentation of the dissemination (even if SBA retains ownership or other intellectual property rights because SBA paid for the research).
Information received by SBA pursuant to and in accordance with its gift acceptance authorities in sections 5(b)(9), 7(k)(2), or 8(b)(1)(G) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. §§634(b)(9), 636(k)(2), and 637(b)(1)(G)) and then disseminated by SBA in accordance with such authority and implementing regulations and/or policies.
"SBA initiated or sponsored distribution" DOES include:
Information prepared by an outside party and disseminated by SBA in a manner that reasonably suggests that SBA agrees with the information and/or that the information represents SBA's views.
Information that SBA directs an outside party to disseminate on its behalf, or that SBA reviews and approves before its release.
Quality is an encompassing term comprising utility, objectivity, and integrity.
Utility refers to the usefulness of the information to its intended users, including the public. In assessing the usefulness of the information to the public, SBA will consider the uses of the information, not only from SBA's perspective but also from the public's perspective. When transparency of information is relevant for assessing the information's usefulness from the public's perspective, SBA will address the issue of transparency when it reviews the information prior to disseminating it.
Objectivity involves two distinct elements, presentation and substance.
Presentation involves disseminating the information in an accurate, clear, complete, and unbiased manner. This involves whether SBA is presenting the information within the proper context. This may mean that SBA should disseminate other information together with the information disseminated, in order to ensure an accurate, clear, complete and unbiased presentation. SBA should identify the sources of the information disseminated, to the extent possible while remaining consistent with confidentiality protections. When SBA disseminates influential financial or statistical information, SBA also should disseminate the supporting data and models, so that the public can assess for itself whether there may be some reason to question the objectivity of the sources. SBA should have full, accurate, transparent documentation, and should identify and disclose to users any error sources affecting data quality.
Substance involves a focus on ensuring accurate, reliable, and unbiased information. In the context of financial or statistical information, SBA should generate the original and supporting data, and should develop the analytic results using sound statistical and research methods.
Integrity refers to the security of information--protection of the information from unauthorized access or revision, to ensure that the information is not compromised through corruption or falsification.
Influential applies only to scientific, financial or statistical information, and means that SBA reasonably can determine that dissemination of such information will have or does have a clear and substantial impact on important public policies or important private sector decisions.
Financial information is information concerning SBA's management of its appropriated funds and of its lending and investment programs.
Statistical information is a collection of numerical data.
Reproducibility means that the information is capable of being substantially reproduced, subject to an acceptable degree of imprecision. With regard to analytic results, "capable of being substantially reproduced" means that independent analysis of the original or supporting data using identical methods would generate similar analytic results, subject to an acceptable degree of imprecision or error.
OMB Guidelines means the Office of Management and Budget "Guidelines for Ensuring and Maximizing the Quality, Objectivity, Utility, and Integrity of Information Disseminated by Federal Agencies," 67 FR 8452 (Feb. 22, 2002).
5. SBA's Information Quality Policy.
Policy statement. It is SBA's policy to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of the information that it disseminates to the public. SBA will take appropriate steps to incorporate information quality criteria into SBA's information dissemination practices, and will ensure the quality of information the agency disseminates in accordance with the standards set forth in these Guidelines. SBA is committed to integrating the principle of information quality into every step of SBA's development of information, including creation, collection, maintenance, and dissemination. SBA will comply with all then-existing legal and policy rules, regulations, directives, and guidance at every step of the process.
Information development. When SBA develops information, it will use its Enterprise Architecture as a guide in building the groundwork for the information. This enterprise architecture will help define the goals for the information, information sharing requirements, original and supporting data needs, and all the applications for the information, among other things. SBA will determine and document all requirements for the information.
Information acquisition. At the information acquisition stage, SBA will remain cognizant of potential problems with information quality, including accuracy, currency, and completeness. Wherever possible during the information acquisition process, SBA will verify (assess completeness, accuracy, consistency, currency, timeliness) and validate (assess whether the data are appropriate for the measures it was collected to show) the data it collects, and scrub such data to correct problems. SBA will use lessons learned from this process to improve its information acquisition procedures. SBA also will document for the agency's records limitations on data and other information as a result of problems discovered during the information acquisition stage that SBA could not correct before it disseminates the information.
Information maintenance. SBA will make every effort, within SBA's available resources, to improve the information it maintains, including its data systems or processes. SBA will encourage feedback from both internal and external sources on the quality of SBA's information, and will consider making changes to its information development and acquisition procedures to correct errors and other problems. SBA will conduct information quality assessments, including reviews and inspections of data, comparisons with other sources of similar data, and verification and validation of information and data. SBA also will take steps to ensure that the information SBA maintains remains secure from unauthorized access, revision, falsification, or corruption.
Information collections subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). When SBA develops new information collections or modifies existing information collections subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), SBA will make every effort to ensure that the information collection will result in information that will be collected, maintained, and used in a manner consistent with the OMB Guidelines and these Guidelines. In SBA's PRA submission to OMB requesting OMB's clearance on new or revised information collections (i.e., in the supporting statement to the OMB Form 83-I), SBA will address its compliance with OMB Guidelines and these Guidelines.
6. SBA's Information Quality Standards.
Categories of information and quality standards. SBA will establish two categories for the information SBA disseminates, and corresponding standards of information quality:
Level I – Influential
Applies to influential financial or statistical information SBA disseminates.
High quality standard.
Level II – Basic
Applies to all information SBA disseminates that does not fall within Level I.
Basic quality standard.
Level I information.
Types of information. Influential financial or statistical information that SBA is responsible for disseminating, as defined in these Guidelines, will fall into the Level I category. Level I information will be subject to a high degree of transparency about the data and methods that were used, in order to facilitate the reproducibility of such information by qualified third parties.
Quality standard. SBA will apply a high quality standard to information in the Level I category, and will ensure the utility, objectivity, and integrity of the information in this category. SBA will use sound statistical and research methods to generate original and supporting data, and to develop analytic results. To the extent possible, SBA will make the data and methods publicly available in order to assist the public in determining whether analytic results are reproducible. However, SBA must not disseminate any data or methods where to do so might violate, improperly disclose, or otherwise infringe upon compelling interests (for example, privacy, trade secrets, intellectual property, and other confidentiality protections). Where SBA does not make the data and methods publicly available due to such compelling interests, it will apply rigorous checks to analytical results, and document what checks it undertook. In all cases, SBA will disclose the specific data sources that have been used, and the specific quantitative methods and assumptions that have been employed.
Standards of reproducibility for original and supporting data.
Financial information. All data used as input, including source, definition, type/size, null/not null, validation rules and business rules as applicable will be stored and available for the duration of the financial information's life cycle. All formulas, calculation, matrices used in processing the data also will be available for the duration of the financial information's life cycle.
Statistical information. All data used as input, including source, definition, type/size, null/not null, validation rules and business rules as applicable will be stored and available for the duration of the statistical information's life cycle. All formulas, calculation, matrices and assumptions used in processing the data also will be available for the duration of the statistical information's life cycle.
Information Quality Assurance.
Information Quality Assurance Panel. SBA will conduct an internal peer review process for all influential financial or statistical information the agency plans to disseminate, before it disseminates such information. (Financial statements compiled by SBA in accordance with the Chief Financial Officer's Act of 1990 will not be subject to review by the Information Quality Assurance Panel because there is a well-established, existing process for reviewing such statements that exceeds the level of the Panel review.) The OCIO will establish an Information Quality Assurance Panel for purposes of conducting the internal peer review process. The Information Quality Assurance Panel will be drawn from representatives of the Offices of the Associate Deputy Administrators and other major offices.
Procedure. The program office responsible for creating and maintaining the influential financial or statistical information to be disseminated will present such information, before it is disseminated to the public, to the Information Quality Assurance Panel. The program office will make a presentation of the information to be disseminated, including the data, the basis for the data, and documentation of the data and methods used to arrive at the data. The Information Quality Assurance Panel will review the information and make a determination as to whether the information complies with these Guidelines and whether it is capable of being substantially reproduced, as required by the OMB Guidelines and these Guidelines. The program office should not disseminate the information to the public unless and until the Information Quality Assurance Panel has cleared the information for dissemination.
The Information Quality Assurance Panel also will advise the program office of any recommended actions to better document the basis for the information and/or to improve the program office's information quality assurance practices.
- Level II information.
- Types of information. All information SBA disseminates, as defined in these Guidelines, will fall into the Level II category if it does not fall within the Level I category. Level II will be subject to an appropriate degree of transparency about the data and methods that were used, depending on the circumstances.
- Quality standard. SBA will apply a basic quality standard to information in the Level II category, and will ensure the utility, objectivity, and integrity of the information in this category.
7. Review Before Dissemination of Information.
General. SBA managers are responsible for reviewing the quality (including utility, objectivity, and integrity) of information before such information is disseminated. SBA managers will be prepared to substantiate the quality of all information developed, maintained, and disseminated under their management and responsibility.
OCIO and Information Quality Assurance Panel review. SBA managers should consult with OCIO for assistance in determining whether any new information, created and maintained by their offices and to be disseminated to the public, falls within the Level I category described in these Guidelines and is subject to the corresponding high quality standard. The Chief Information Officer, in his or her discretion, may convene the Information Quality Assurance Panel to review the information to be disseminated and provide a recommendation as to whether SBA should consider the information to fall within Level I or Level II.
Reviewing for Level I -- Influential. In reviewing information to determine whether such information falls within the Level I – Influential standard, SBA first will determine if such information is "financial or statistical information." If not, then the information falls within Level II. If so, then SBA will determine whether such information is "influential," as defined in these Guidelines.
When determining whether the information "will have or does have a clear and substantial impact," SBA will decide whether such impact has a high probability of occurring. If it is merely arguable that such an impact might occur, or if it is a close judgment call, then the information may not be considered influential. When determining if the impact will be on "important public policies or important private sector decisions," SBA will decide whether the impact will be on important policy, economic, or other similar decisions.
SBA will consider two factors in making these determinations: breadth and intensity. Breadth refers to the range of parties or entities upon which the information will have or does have a clear and substantial impact. Information that affects a broad, rather than a narrow, range of parties (e.g., an entire industry as opposed to a narrow sector or an industry or a single company) is more likely to be considered influential. Intensity refers to the level or degree of impact. Information that has a low cost or modest impact on affected parties is less likely to be considered influential than information that has a high cost or crucial impact.
8. Responsibility for Information Quality.
General. SBA managers are responsible for the quality of information under their management. Managers are responsible for maintaining required agency records in support of information created or maintained by their offices and then disseminated by SBA.
Level I information. SBA managers who are responsible for information in the Level I – Influential category will ensure that such information has a high degree of transparency and reproducibility. Examples of practices that may be required to support reproducibility of information in this category are:
justify that the statistical and research methods used are sound;
document descriptions of methods and assumptions used;
freeze and archive the data set or the inputs into a model;
archive computer code used for a model;
archive the sources of data used;
document any discussion of data sources, methods, and assumptions;
evaluate the quality and logic underlying analytical results through periodic reviews;
document any limitations on data used.
9. Administrative Mechanism to Seek Correction of SBA Information.
- General scope of the administrative mechanism. The administrative mechanism described in these Guidelines is for the purpose of allowing an affected person to seek and obtain correction ("correction request") of information maintained and disseminated by SBA that the person believes is erroneous, inconsistent or does not comply with these Guidelines or the OMB Guidelines.
- Who may file a correction request? Any affected person may file a correction request under these Guidelines. An "affected person" is an individual, entity, or organization that is using. or has been or may be benefited or harmed by, the information SBA disseminated or who otherwise is affected by the information.
- When may an affected person file a correction request? An affected person may file a correction request only after SBA disseminates the information that the affected person claims it is using or will or has affected it.
- How and to whom must an affected person file a correction request? An affected person may file its correction request with the Office of Chief Information Officer ("OCIO"), U.S. Small Business Administration, through one of the following methods:
- Fax: file a correction request via fax to a fax machine located in the Office of Chief Information Officer, (202) 481-6123, ATTN: SBA Data Administrator.
- Mail: file a correction request by mail, by mailing the request, first class postage prepaid, to Office of Chief Information Officer, U.S. Small Business Administration, 409 Third Street, SW, Suite 4000, Washington, D.C. 20416, ATTN: Data Administrator.
- E-mail: file a correction request by e-mail to firstname.lastname@example.com
- What must an affected person include in its correction request? SBA will make available to the public a standard form and instructions that an affected person may use for a correction request. At a minimum, the correction request must:
- Identify the affected person;
- State how the affected person has been affected by the information;
- Describe in detail the information the affected person seeks to have corrected, including the name of the information, when SBA disseminated the information, and where or in what format SBA disseminated the information;
- Specify why the affected person believes the information is erroneous for failure to comply with OMB Guidelines or these Guidelines, and provide any documentation, information, data, or other facts available to the affected person in support of its assertion; and
- Substantiate the basis for the correction request by discussing why SBA's making of the requested correction would serve the genuine and valid needs of SBA or the public, would not disrupt SBA processes, and is only to the degree appropriate for the nature and timeliness of the information involved.
Persons submitting correction requests should be aware that they bear the "burden of proof" with respect to the necessity for the correction and to the type of correction they seek.
How will SBA process correction requests that it receives?
Initial screening. SBA's OCIO will screen the correction request for completeness, but will not substantively review the request. If OCIO determines that the correction request is incomplete, OCIO will advise the submitter that SBA will not process the request. For those correction requests that OCIO considers complete, OCIO will assign a case tracking number, and will forward the correction request to the appropriate SBA program office for processing.
Program office review and response. The appropriate SBA program office, with responsibility for the disseminated information that is the subject of the correction request, will review the correction request. The program office will:
Determine if the correction request is valid (i.e., the person submitting the request has stated that it is an "affected person;" the correction request addresses specific "information" "disseminated" by SBA; and the affected person has substantiated and justified the basis for its correction request) and made in good faith (i.e., is not frivolous or speculative and is not made solely for the purpose of harassing the agency), in which case such office will consider the correction request further; or is frivolous and made in bad faith, in which case such office will reject the correction request; and
Decide whether SBA's making of the requested correction would serve the genuine and valid needs of SBA or the public and would not disrupt SBA processes, taking into consideration the nature and timeliness of the information at issue, the magnitude of the error, the significance of the error on SBA's or the public's use of the information, and the cost of undertaking a correction. If the program office determines that SBA should make a correction, the program office, after considering the type and extent of correction requested by the affected person, will make its own determination about the corrective action that is appropriate for the nature and timeliness of the information involved. Examples of remedies SBA may apply are flagging the information, correcting the information, immediately retracting the information, suspending the information pending correction, and notifying the public that SBA will be doing additional work on the data or models underlying the information.
The program office will communicate with OCIO on the status of the correction request during processing. The program office will prepare a draft written response to the person submitting the correction request and will forward the draft response to OCIO. The response will describe SBA's decision on the correction request, including the corrective action (if any) that SBA has made or will make.
OCIO will review the draft decision to determine whether SBA has given the correction request appropriate consideration. OCIO may change the proposed decision prepared by the program office, after consultation with the program office. OCIO will finalize SBA's response to the correction request and send it to the person submitting the correction request, under the signature of the Chief Information Officer or his or her delegated representative.
SBA is not obligated to change the content or status of information as a result of SBA's receipt and/or consideration of a correction request.
iii. Time limit. SBA will respond to a correction request within 60 days of receiving a complete request. OCIO will be responsible for monitoring the status of correction requests (including the timeliness of SBA's responses to such requests) and communicating with the submitter on the status of such requests.
What are the procedures for requesting reconsideration of SBA's response to a correction request?
Time limit on request for reconsideration. An affected person may file a request for reconsideration of SBA's response to the person's correction request within 30 days of the date of SBA's response letter. SBA will not process requests for reconsideration submitted after that deadline, although SBA, in its sole discretion, may make the requested correction despite its not processing the request for reconsideration itself under these Guidelines.
How to file a request for reconsideration. An affected person may file its request for reconsideration with the OCIO, through any one the methods described above for filing a correction request.
Contents of a request for reconsideration. The request for reconsideration must state the basis for the request, and include as attachments the original correction request filed and SBA's response to it. The affected person must state why the person does not agree with SBA's decision in response to the person's correction request and/or with SBA's corrective action (if any).
SBA processing of requests for reconsideration.
Initial screening. SBA's OCIO will screen the request for reconsideration for timeliness and completeness, but will not substantively review the request. If OCIO determines that the request for reconsideration was not timely filed or is incomplete, OCIO will advise the submitter that SBA will not process the request. OCIO will forward to the appropriate SBA program office, for their information only, all untimely filed requests for reconsideration. OCIO will assign to each timely and complete request for reconsideration the same case tracking number assigned to the underlying correction request, and will forward such request for reconsideration to the appropriate SBA program office for processing.
Program office review and response. The SBA office or officer that is next highest in the chain of command above the SBA office or officer that responded to the original correction request will handle requests for reconsideration, and:
Will review and reconsider SBA's response to the original correction request and the contents of the request for reconsideration and may at its sole discretion approve the correction request.
If it believes SBA's response to the original correction request should not change, it will convene a panel consisting of a program office representative and two panel members drawn from other SBA offices (e.g., Office of Chief Operating Officer, Office of General Counsel, Office of Chief Information Officer) to review the reconsideration request. The panel's decision will prevail over the program office's decision.
Will prepare a draft written response to the person submitting the request for reconsideration and will forward the draft response to OCIO. The response will describe SBA's decision on the request for reconsideration, including the corrective action (if any) that SBA has made or will make.
OCIO will review the draft decision to determine whether SBA has given the reconsideration request appropriate consideration. OCIO may change the proposed decision prepared by the program office, after consultation with the program office. OCIO will finalize SBA's response to the reconsideration request and send it to the person submitting the request for reconsideration, under the signature of the Chief Information Officer or his or her delegated representative.
C. Time limit. SBA will respond to a request for reconsideration within 45 days of receiving a timely and complete request. OCIO will be responsible for monitoring the status of requests for reconsideration (including the timeliness of SBA's response) and communicating with the submitter on the status of such requests.
Recordkeeping. OCIO will maintain an agency record of all correction requests and requests for reconsideration filed with OCIO, and all SBA responses to either. OCIO also will maintain a tracking system for such requests for the purpose of providing reports to OMB as required in the OMB Guidelines.
10. Correction Requests Concerning Information on Which SBA Has Sought Public Comment.
Certain activities conducted by SBA, during which SBA disseminates information, already include a comprehensive public comment process and in almost all such cases SBA disseminates information through publication of information in the Federal Register and/or posting such information on SBA's web site together with a specific request for public comment. Examples of such activities include:
Notices of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).
Requests for comment on information collections subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA).
Regulatory evaluations or analyses (for example, evaluations under the Regulatory Flexibility Act).
Interim final or direct final rules.
Notices of availability of funds and/or program announcements.
Generally, information that SBA disseminates in the context of such activities will not be subject to the administrative mechanism described in Section 9 of these Guidelines (although all other aspects of the Guidelines do apply). Instead, SBA expects that those affected persons who seek a correction of such information on the basis that it does not comply with the OMB Guidelines or these Guidelines, will submit a comment to that effect in accordance with the rules governing public comments concerning that activity. SBA will address that comment/correction request in the next document SBA issues in the activity concerning which SBA sought public comment.
As an example, SBA publishes in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) and provides a 60-day public comment period. In that case, SBA expects a person who believes that information disseminated through the NPRM is erroneous to submit a comment to that effect within the 60-day comment period. SBA will address that comment in the final rule SBA issues based on that NPRM and make any corrections to the disseminated information that SBA deems appropriate. If the person submits a correction request on the 61st day under the administrative mechanism described in Section 9 of these Guidelines, SBA reserves the right not to consider the request.
In unusual circumstances, SBA in its discretion may issue a response to a correction request submitted during the public comment period on a rulemaking or similar activity, separate from and outside of the rulemaking process and earlier than through the issuance of a final document. Such circumstances could include where issuance of a final rule will be delayed or where harm to the affected party would be substantial if SBA waited to address the correction request in the final rule. If SBA disseminates new information in the final rule, however, such information would be subject to the administrative mechanism described in section 9 of these Guidelines. Otherwise, SBA reserves the right to reject a correction request, concerning information in a final document, if that request could have been made during the public comment period provided.
11. Public Comment on These Guidelines.
Interested parties are free to raise questions regarding the appropriateness of using these Guidelines in a particular situation. SBA will consider whether the Guidelines are appropriate in that situation.
SBA may revise these Guidelines from time to time. SBA welcomes comments on the content of the Guidelines at any time and will consider such comments in any future revisions to the Guidelines.
12. Restrictions on the Applicability of These Guidelines.
These Guidelines do not impose any additional requirements on SBA during adjudicative proceedings, which are proceedings before SBA in which the rights and duties of specific parties in a specific matter are settled through SBA's exercise of "judicial" authority through factual findings and legal determinations (see 13 CFR Part 134). These Guidelines do not provide parties to adjudicative proceedings any additional rights of challenge or appeal.
These Guidelines represent SBA policy and procedural guidance, and are not SBA regulations. Therefore, the Guidelines do not have the force and effect of law, and do not create any legal rights or impose any legally binding requirements or obligations on SBA or on the public.
These Guidelines themselves do not represent a final agency decision, and do not direct or govern any final agency decision by SBA. Rather, SBA will make its decisions concerning each matter presented for decision, based on the applicable statutes and regulations in existence at the time it makes its decision.


text:
I always faint a few minutes after I get a shot. One doctor said it's because I was nervous or scared, but I don't feel nervous or scared. Is it the medicine in the shot? I really want to know why this is happening and what I can do about it.*
– Sunita*
Great question! Shots contain different ingredients, so it's probably not the medication in the shot that's making you faint. That means the explanation your doctor gave is the most likely cause — especially because lots of people get nervous about shots, even if they're not aware of it.
Why would you faint if you're not feeling scared? Our bodies can react in ways that seem unconnected to what we're thinking. It's possible for someone to feel nervous without realizing it.
When we're scared or upset, we can begin to hyperventilate. This kind of fast, shallow breathing lowers the amount of carbon dioxide in our bodies, and that can lead to fainting.
Next time you get a shot, try these tips: Breathe slowly and deeply before the shot and think of something relaxing. Or distract yourself — bring a friend along or play a game that requires intense concentration.
*Names have been changed to protect user privacy.
Note: All information is for educational purposes only. For specific medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment, consult your doctor.
© 1995-
Images provided by The Nemours Foundation, iStock, Getty Images, Veer, Shutterstock, and Clipart.com.
Copyright Cook Children's Health Care System, Fort Worth, Texas


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Ryanair was, and is, famous for many reasons; cheap flights, luggage restrictions, perceived sexism, a crazy boss, a refreshing approach to PR, and the list goes on.
But perhaps Ryanair was most famous as the poster child for the upsell, and the doyen of poor UX.
All this might sound harsh, but it is thankfully all changing. Michael O'Leary has been all over Twitter recently talking about forthcoming improvements, particularly to the web, and luggage restrictions, too.
And today, via its Twitter account, Ryanair announced the first stage of its website rebuild, the homepage, is now live.
Here's the tweet, showcasing the homepage.
Morning. We have a surprise for you! Our new @Ryanair home page, the 1st of many changes for http://t.co/cgLkPqmZBx pic.twitter.com/aF9wDUQVkH— Ryanair (@Ryanair) November 15, 2013
The Ryanair website isn't yet mobile optimised, and although there is an app available, it is routinely reviewed as 'not the best' (see app store screenshot below).
We've looked at Ryanair before on the blog, and its a website that has previously struggled with user engagement.
But all that has to change at some point, and the change has to start somewhere on site, with the homepage a good indicator to customers of things to come.
The change is quite marked when you click away from the homepage to explore the 'old' site - with the new header menu present throughout.
The change is even more marked when one compares the old homepage with the new. Check out the screenshots below and you'll see that Ryanair has significantly pared down the information on the page, in line with the widely held view that simplicity is what the customer appreciates.
The points of user interaction have also been increased in size, with buttons more obvious and looking tantalisingly like they're being prepared for mobile.
Old homepage:
(click to enlarge)
New homepage:
(click to enlarge)
Still lots to do
There is still a lot to do, as performing a simple search for flights from the new homepage, our Editor, Graham Charlton, immediately ran into difficulties.
He searched for flights from Newcastle to Barcelona and was returned the page below. There are no flights available and a list of possible reasons why.
This is very frustrating for the customer, who shouldn't really be allowed to search for flights that don't exist - i.e the selection for destination should be tailored to departure airport and possible date of departure.
There is a link to 'new route start dates' and on this page one can see that the Newcastle to Barcelona route doesn't commence until April 1st 2014 (making a fool of Graham?).
So the new homepage is a good step, but users will keenly await further improvements.
Comments (19)
Pretty glaring UX error here is when you click the "from" dropdown it stops at Switzerland, meaning it looks like you can't select a UK airport.
I wonder if there are also plans to improve the UX when actually flying with them? ;)
fyi you can see planned improvements to the Ryanair web and mobile offerings here http://www.ryanair.com/en/news/ryanair-unveils-improved-website-and-digital-service-to-customers
I look forward to the new app and mobile boarding passes.
Anecdotally it seems faster than before. The homepage at least uses cookies so it seems to repopulate the last booked flight destination options, however I keep getting session locked notices for the last 3 days when I try to book.
They still have the UX dark pattern of making it difficult for the customer to opt out of travel insurance, with 'Don't insure me' hidden in the alphabetical country of residence drop-down list. Even with the addition of explanatory text, a confusing experience!
Hi Ben, I've noticed the change as well when I bought tickets today. So I went through all the booking process and fortunately there are no more extra pages (which are trying to sell everything) you need to go through. Which is a massive improvement; especially for older people as they were definitely confusing. So not a bad job Ryanair. Let's see what else they have prepared for us.
I was booking flights today and i noticed that the homepage had changed. The page is cleaner and quicker. I was happy with the transaction hopefully the flight is as good.
I would be the first to say that Ryanair's old website was disastrous. But I can't help but feel a little disappointed in Ryanair with this new site. It's very safe. Ryanair is one of those companies you love to hate, you take the good with the bad that it is a budget airline - if you want a good user experience you pay more for it elsewhere with a different airline. I know they have faced a lot of backlash recently but that has become part of their personality. If they are no longer that company then who are they? This site isn't that of a budget airline. Granted, it will only help improve UX and in turn bookings I'm sure, but as a marketer I would have liked to have seen something more creative that challenged people's perceptions of them, instead of just what appears to be, giving in.
The term "you only get what you pay for" sums this company up perfectly.
Their poor website matches their miserable customer service.
They would do well to take a close look at both Ba's website and approach to customer service.
Have to agree with Claire here,
Ryanair have done a good job simplifying their page - but they should have done this as apart of a unified content strategy that reinforced their brand messaging. Going to this site this morning I have no real motivation for using their service above any other - and no emphasis on special offers either.
They have the basic elements there - I normally don't encourage the use of carousels but I'd suggest they quickly populate this with some special deals.
Lastly, the content below the fold is pretty redundant - no decent microcopy to encourage me to click.
Could go on but I'm sure they will tweak this over the next months.
@Steve @Claire
I hear what you're saying but I think that Ryanair's task was simply to increase conversion.
Their brand is synonymous with 'the cheapest' and that's why people shop their, not because of any content strategy or unified strategy.
Once Ryanair brings a redesigned app and mobile boarding cards, and the fact it's already ditched the crappy up-sells (most of them), it'll be up there with EasyJet.
Hi Ben,
I beg to differ :)
I think the time it probably took this client to relaunch, they could have also looked at branding and messaging.
Content strategy/marketing isn't about piling on loads of content that doesn't really relate to conversions. It's about stripping back (which they've done a lot here) and then really answering those user questions (like 'why should I book with you over EasyJet?').
Take a look at the video on this homepage. The quality of this video is pretty budget - does that reflect poorly on the brand or could they have made more of this - i.e. 'we don't spend a lot on video because our focus is on keeping prices low and customer satisfaction high'.
If that's the right messaging for this brand then how could they have reflected that in the tone and design?
just a few thoughts and , like you said, with the improved app they will, no doubt, deliver a fantastic service.
I agree with Lenka, the removal of the ghastly up sell pages is a massive improvement.
When I'm buying flights on Ryanair, I just want the process to be over with as quickly as possible. If the buying journey makes me want to loose the will to live, I will go elsewhere.
Hi Ben
In line with Steven's comments - conversions or functionality doesn't have to mean the loss of design, personality or message.
I'm not denying that a strategy for improvement needs to be in place, and mobile boarding passes are a must - which I happened to be thinking whilst taking a Ryanair flight this weekend.
I just don't think they should shy away completely from the character they have created for themselves, when that is what so often keeps them on peoples tongues and in peoples minds.
Ryanair debates can get tedious in the extreme but I'm going to wade in anyway.
Ryanair's "brand proposition" (I really hate that phrase) is that they're the cheapest way to fly. Because of this, they've always been able to afford to have a shitty site. They obviously don't think they can continue with that so have improved it. As for "losing their personality" I'm not buying that at all really. So long as they keep their prices the same this won't harm their sales at all, the idea that Ryanair need to bother with some grand "content strategy' is a little misguided IMO, they're cheap, that's what they trade on. Any brand perceptions that have arisen over time have been incidental of that.
I think everyone agrees that the overall look and feel has improved vastly. The new cleaner, simplified layout is easier on the eye and makes the content easier to follow.
From a UX perspective, there are definitely bugs with the site which I am sure will be ironed out through user testing and with further development of the inner pages.
I cannot even find the "No travel insurance" option in the country drop-down anymore (I used to find it there on the old drop-down - have booked about 10 flights with Ryanair in the last year and it's always moving - but this time I can't find it - help!) Thanks
Never mind, found it! Buggers moved it from the end of the list (where it used to be) to the "D" in the list of countries, so it's between Denmark & Finland. On some level gotta admire their dastardliness
Ryanair, the budget airline company that is either loved or hated by people has given its website a much needed makeover. Lots of yellow aesthetics, heavy content and over populated with links in widely varying styles. Now with its recently released fresh design, I think it's fair to say that the new homepage is a lot better in terms of initial look and feel than its predecessor


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As previously reported, Boyega played the son of Stacker Pentecost, who was portrayed by Idris Elba in the original film. He'll be joined by Cailee Spaeny as the new female lead, Scott Eastwood, Adria Arjona, Mackenyu Maeda, Jing Tian, and Levi Meaden. In addition, del Toro has said some of the cast members from the last film will return. However, we don't know which ones yet.
Considering how many times Pacific Rim 2 looked like it might get delayed indefinitely or even cancelled outright, it's heartening to see that it really and truly is happening, with shooting finally started in Australia. Pacific Rim: Maelstrom is in theaters February 23, 2018.
Another dose of big slow ass robots kicking arse again. Get in.


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Skyrock API - Libraries
Skyrock offeres an XML-RPC API that lets developers create apps that can manage their blogs. The API supports methods that interact with blogs on Blogger, metaWeblog, and Skyrock. For Skyrock partners, and API Key is used for authentication. For other developers and non-partners, a username/password must be sent with each API call, or a session string must be created.


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During this immersive virtual field trip to the Grand Canyon, learners investigate geologic records to discover what the rocks reveal about life and environments of the past. They will then apply those same investigative techniques to the search for... (View More) life in the solar system. Educator resources include a 5E instructional lesson and alignments with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS); the NRC Framework for K-12 Science Education; Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts; and A Framework for 21st Century Learning. This resource is part of the Infiniscope space exploration experiences. (View Less)
Materials Cost: Free
Invisible Mars is a Science on a Sphere (SOS) and planetarium program that examines the story of water on Mars. NASA's MAVEN mission (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission) is providing new information about the atmosphere of Mars and its... (View More) probable role in the disappearance of Martian water. The module also provides information on past, present, and future Mars missions, In addition to the downloadable script and materials to run the program, the site also provides background information, docent/facilitator tips, and image sets comparing water features on Earth and Mars. (View Less)
Materials Cost: Free
In this activity students investigate cloud opacity, including transparent, translucent, and opaque cloud characteristics. The activity is a companion resource to an episode of the PBS series, SciGirls. The episode, titled "SkyGirls," featured NASA... (View More) female scientists and a citizen science projects for students. (View Less)
Materials Cost: 1 cent - $1 per group of students
This series of learning modules is designed for adaptation in an introductory Earth science or planetary science course. The modules actively engage students through Mars remote-sensing data and Earth-based analogs to understanding Mars geology.... (View More) Interviews with planetary scientists and geologists present current issues in planetary sciences. (View Less)
This Science On a Sphere video and docent show (script and playlist), explores factors that render Earth habitable and influence Earth's energy budget. The video gives an overview of NASA's Search for "Goldilocks Planets" - planets that are not too... (View More) hot or too cold for liquid water. (View Less)
Materials Cost: Free
Common materials such as sand, gravel, pebbles, shells, etc. are used to represent crustal materials from an unknown planet. Students begin by sorting, classifying, and making observations about the sample. Using that information, they must then... (View More) interpret the geologic and biologic history of the planet. The lesson is part of the Mars Educxation Program series; it models scientific inquiry using the 5E instructional model and includes teacher notes and vocabulary. Next Generation Science Standards are listed. (View Less)
Materials Cost: $1 - $5 per group of students
Building Intuition for In-water Optics and Ocean Color Remote Sensing: Spectrophotometer Activity with littleBits™
This activity demonstrates optical properties of water: that different constituents in water affect the transmission, absorption, and scattering of different colors in the visible light spectrum. Inexpensive, off-the-shelf components are used to... (View More) build a light sensor and source, creating a simple spectrophotometer that can measure light absorption. In the second part of this activity, principles of ocean color remote sensing are applied to measure reflectance. Using components that are clearly visible allows students to configure them in different ways. Playing with the instrument design gives students a practical understanding of spectrophotometers, in-water optics, and remote sensing. As an extension of this concept, students are encouraged to think about how ocean color is used to estimate the concentration of chlorophyll to infer phytoplankton abundance, colored dissolved organic matter, and suspended sediments. (View Less)
This series of ten lessons has been developed to teach students about local and global water issues. They are based on NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission. The activities are done largely outdoors and include scientific data... (View More) collection and analysis and integrate technology. Many of the lessons involve data collected based on protocols from the GLOBE Program. Each lesson is designed to take one hour; the lessons build on each other, but can also be used independently. Each lesson topic includes a lesson plan, PowerPoint presentation, student capture sheet and capture sheet answer guide. (View Less)
Materials Cost: $5 - $10 per group of students
Each lesson or activity in this toolkit is related to NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). The toolkit is designed so that each lesson can be done independently, or combined and taught in a sequence. The Teacher Implementation Guide provides... (View More) recommendations for combining the lessons into three main strands: 1) Lunar Exploration - These lessons provide a basic introduction to Moon exploration. Note that this strand is also appropriate for use in social studies classes. 2) Mapping the Moon - These lessons provide a more in-depth understanding of Moon exploration through the use of scientific data and student inquiry. The lessons also include many connections to Earth science and geology. 3) Tools of Investigation - These higher-level lessons examine the role of technology, engineering and physics in collecting and analyzing data. (View Less)
Materials Cost: $1 - $5 per group of students
This is an activity about Earth's magnetic field. Learners will construct a soda bottle magnetometer, collect data, and analyze the results to detect magnetic storm events. Ideally, learners should collect data for at least a month. If several... (View More) months are available for data collection, this is ideal. This is the first activity as part of the iMAGiNETICspace: Where Imagination, Magnetism, and Space Collide educator's guide. Instructions for downloading the iBook educator's guide and the associated Transmedia book student guide are available at the resource link. (View Less)